Big Time Property Manager Goes Green to Save Greenbacks

The Plaza Hotel in Midtown. Its residences are managed by Cooper Square Realty.View Full Caption

Peter Kramer/Getty Images

By Amy Zimmer

DNAinfo News Editor

MANHATTAN — One of the world's largest residential and commercial property managers announced Wednesday it would be giving "energy report cards" to the 450 buildings it runs in New York City as it works to reduce their energy use.

FirstService Corp. — whose sister company Cooper Square Realty oversees its New York City properties — officially launched FS Energy LLC to help improve their buildings' energy efficiency and lower their operating costs.

The firm spent more than two years developing a database tracking energy consumption trends and costs throughout their properties to help implement customized energy reduction plans.

The 450 New York City buildings run by Cooper Square include the Plaza, Carnegie Hill Tower at 40 E. 94th St., Kips Bay Towers and the Frank Gehry-designed building in Lower Manhattan on Spruce Street.

Kips Bay Towers, one of the properties managed by Cooper Square Realty.View Full Caption

DNAinfo/Amy Zimmer

Because of the company's size, its leaders believe its eco-friendly project could make a dent in the emissions buildings produce — and they're setting significant benchmarks.

"FS Energy aims to reduce energy costs and consumption by 25 percent in our New York City residential properties by 2013," D. Scott Patterson, president and COO of FirstService, said in a statement.

That's expected to translate into more than $30 million in saving for these buildings and a reduction of 11,000 metric tons-worth of carbon emissions — equivalent to taking more than 21,600 cars off the road, the company said.

FS Energy is in the midst of more than two dozen energy efficiency projects throughout the city, from oil and gas conversion and boiler replacements to lighting efficiency projects and installing co-generation systems, the company said.

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